Lost and Found
by Emikadon
Summary: "You see, the day you arrived in the glade—a whole two weeks before the end of the month, actually—our keeper of the runners disappeared. And he didn't disappear from just anywhere. He disappeared from the Maze."
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Maze Runner or any of its characters._

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><p><strong>Lost and Found<strong>

**Prologue**

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><p>WICKED Memorandum, Date 231.8.14, Time 21:13<p>

TO: My Associates

FROM: Ava Paige, Chancellor

RE: VARIABLE INITIALIZATION, Groups A and B

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><p>It has been done. The Variables have been successfully initialized and are now being prepped to re-enter the Trials. While I know some of you had objected to the new additions to the Trials, I am positive that any data collected will further our understanding of the Killzone and not only come to our benefit, but all of humanity's. For now, we will closely observe and record the results. With enough data, we will move forward, no matter the cost.<p>

Until then, always remember.

WICKED is good.


	2. Chapter I

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Maze Runner or any of its characters._

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><p><strong>Lost and Found<strong>

**Arc I**

**Chapter I**

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><p>Shink.<p>

_Run. Keep running. Don't look behind you._

Shink.

_One foot in front of the other. Just put one foot in front of the other._

Shink.

_Right. Left. Right. Center. Left. Turn after turn after turn._

Shink.

_Almost there. Keep going, just keep going. Please don't let it catch up don't let it catch me oh god ohgodplease—_

I woke with a start, my body instinctively curling up into a sitting position. I immediately regretted it as soreness spiked through every nerve I possessed. Raising my hand, I rubbed blearily at my eyes, hoping to shake off the last of the grogginess that always seemed to come with a long sleep. I absentmindedly tugged at a lock of jet black hair, wondering why Rachel hadn't come in to kick my butt for not getting out of bed yet—

Wait.

Who was Rachel?

The thought had come so naturally, it was as if my brain had simply supplied it without my mind itself thinking.

Suddenly, all drowsiness drained from my body. My eyes darted around the room, taking in the unfamiliar furniture and layout, panic beginning to settle in the pit of my stomach. Before I could throw the covers off my legs and spring to my feet, the door creaked open and a head of messy blonde hair poked into the room.

"Finally awake, are ya? 'Bout bloody time too."

I blinked, regarding the boy that now leaned against the doorway, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. His unexpected arrival did nothing for the feeling of dread that was growing with each second. Before I could help it, a small whimper escaped past my lips and my eyes began to water.

"Who…?" I managed to choke out. "Who are you…?"

His expression softened and he unfolded his arms to slowly approach the bed I was currently laying on. My heart jumped to my throat and I instantly scooted back to keep the meager distance between us. My back hit the backboard of the bed, and another whimper found its way from my throat. A look of pity briefly flashed on his face, and he held up his hands in a submissive gesture.

"Don't worry, Greenie. We've all gone through this stage." A wry smirk twisted across his lips, "The confusion? Yeah, you're not the first and you probably won't be the last either."

I swallowed, the lump in my throat making it nearly impossible to speak. The boy must have realized this, and hastily went on, eager to fill the awkward silence filling the room. "I'm Newt. You probably don't know your own name, but that's fine. It'll come back to you in a few—"

"Emily."

Both of us blinked. Him because I had just cut him off in the middle of his sentence (which, I realized with a wince, was incredibly rude) and myself because again, the name had just come naturally without any other thought.

A slow smile spread across his features, and he stuck out his hand, "Well then. It's a pleasure to meet you, Emily." But I flinched back, recoiling from the movement. This stranger seemed nice enough, but for some reason every single one of my instincts screamed at me to turn and run the opposite way.

His smile faded and a small frown replaced it. Guilt filled my stomach at my rudeness (again), but I ignored it and turned my face to look at the side wall, adamantly avoiding his gaze. My throat seemed to have loosened and tears were no longer pricking at my eyes, so I quietly asked, "Where am I?"

The frown had still not left his face, but he answered nonetheless, "To be completely honest, I don't think I should be the one telling you that. Alby's the leader, so he'll probably be the one filling you in."

Alby. I filed the unfamiliar name away in my mind just as the boy (Newt, I corrected myself) turned and beckoned towards the door. "Come on now, the others will probably be wondering what's taking so long."

Almost instantly, my heart began racing and panic that had previously dissipated began to take over once more. I hadn't realized it until now, but I was actually vaguely _comfortable_ with this Newt guy and the previous fear after waking up had disappeared through our small conversation. Suddenly thrown back into the harsh reality that I had no idea who I was, where I was, and why my mind seemed to remember things I had no clue about, all feelings of comfort flew out the window.

Newt seemed to have realized this as well, and he muttered a low curse under his breath. "Hey, hey. It's all good." He soothed, and my brain vacantly registered that he had a really nice accent. "If you don't want to leave, that's okay. I'll just go get Alby and he can explain things better, alright?"

"No!" I practically shrieked. He started, eyes widening slightly. Hastily, I lowered my voice a couple octaves and mumbled, "No, no. It's fine. I'll just—I'll just stick with you, if that's okay." As much I didn't trust this stranger, I'd much rather be with a (semi) familiar face than with no one at all.

The surprised look didn't leave his face, but he nodded uncertainly and motioned for me to follow him. I scrambled up from the bed, throwing the covers off of my legs, and slid off the mattress. My feet thudded onto the ground, and I realized that I was wearing no shoes, only wearing a pair of dull gray socks. It was only then that I got to examine the loose clothes I was wearing.

The simple faded blue t-shirt must have seen better days, as the ends of the sleeves were frayed and it was marred with dirt stains. The pants were no better; they were tattered and had a couple rips in them. Glancing around the room, I spied a pair of shoes against the nearby wall. Something tugged at the back of my mind, and deciding to trust this feeling of familiarity, I quickly grabbed the shoes and shoved my feet into them. They fit perfectly.

Realizing that Newt had already left the room, I quickly exited through the doorway just in time to see him disappear down a flight of stairs. I cautiously walked over, feeling a bit self-conscious, and I could hear faint sounds of people talking. Deciding that getting answers was better than looking dumb, I headed down the stairs. The volume of the talking increased as I made my way down, and I followed the sound towards what seemed to be a large room.

The chatter faded as I entered the room, all eyes turning towards me. Flushing at the attention, I mumbled a small hello and ducked my head in embarrassment. I heard a chair scraping, and I peeked through my bangs to see a tall, pale skinned man standing up.

"Alby, for the last shucking time, I'm telling you. Wherever Minho went, it has something to do with this chick here." And with that, he stalked out of the room, his shoulder banging into mine as he left. I winced, but fought down the urge to rub my aching shoulder.

I heard a sigh, this time coming from a darker skinned man. "Right, well the rest of you lot clear out. Newt, stay." I shifted away from the door to allow easier access as five or six boys exited, each one giving me curious stares as they left.

When the last of them left and the door closed behind them, the room seemed eerily quiet as both Newt and the dark skinned man regarded me.

Desperate to break the silence, I mumbled,"I-I guess you're Alby, then?" I chided myself internally for the stutter, something in the back of my mind telling me I shouldn't show such weakness in front of strangers. At his slow nod, I went on nervously, "And t-the guys that just left…?"

"They were the keepers." Alby's deep voice explained, his watchful eyes not wavering for a second, "Except for Ben, but Minho wasn't… available." I turned the word "keepers" over in my mouth, the foreign word's meaning lost on me. Alby must have expected this, as he continued on, "You'll learn more about that in your tour. For now, we need to know what you remember."

A rather irrational surge of ire shot through me, and I snapped irritably, "I don't remember anything! Shouldn't it be the other way around where I need to know what you guys do?!" Both of the boys seemed startled at my outburst, and to be honest I was quite surprised at myself as well. Where had that confidence come from?

Alby had a speculative look on his face as he mulled over my words. "You're right, but you must understand we're in a sticky situation at the moment." I bit back another retort, refusing to let myself interrupt yet again. "You see, the day you arrived in the glade—a whole two weeks before the end of the month, actually—our keeper of the runners disappeared. And he didn't disappear from just anywhere."

"He disappeared from the Maze."

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><p><strong>If you're confused at this point, that is completely okay. Since this is a first person POV, I plan on having you as the reader to be in the same exact situation that Emily finds herself, and that includes all of the confusion of waking up with no memories. I have a pretty good idea of where the plot's going to go and I'll branch out from there.<strong>

**Leave a review or favorite/follow if you liked it so far. It always makes my day.**


	3. Chapter II

__Disclaimer: I do not own The Maze Runner or any of its characters.__

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><p><strong>Lost and Found<strong>

**Arc I**

**Chapter II**

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><p><em>The Maze?<em>

Warning bells began going off in my head. It sounded ominous, dangerous, and _familiar_. I suddenly remembered the nightmare I had less than an hour ago. It was fragmented—as all dreams seem to be, actually—and what other than a maze could have such twists and turns?

"I see." I murmured quietly, "But why do you assume it has something to do with me? It could have been just a coincidence, right?"

Alby shook his head no and Newt answered, "Nah. At the end of every month, a new person rides up in that box over there, and he's the Greenie until the next person arrives." I followed his gaze out the window to what looked like a rigging machine and a deep, deep hole. "However, as Alby said, you came up an entire two weeks early."

"So… Not a coincidence then." I concluded. Alby and Newt looked at me expectantly, but I hesitated. Should I tell them about my nightmare and flashes of awareness? I still remembered the panic and instinctual urge to flee when I had woken up. After brief debate in my mind, I decided to tell. Better three heads than one anyway.

So against all instincts telling me to shut my mouth, I said, "Earlier, when I was still sleeping, I had this nightmare." I paused, struggling to find the words that would describe it clear enough, "and it felt like I was being chased by something through a maze of sorts."

Alby and Newt shared a look. Newt mouthed something, but Alby shook his head and beckoned for me to continue. "It sounded, metallic, I think. Almost like—kind of like two knives scraping together or something like that." Again, I saw Alby and Newt glance at each other and now they were clearly frowning. "Also, I've been getting these… These gut feelings, I guess you could say. Like, every now and then, stuff you say or stuff I see seems really familiar."

"Such as…?" Newt prompted.

"Um, earlier when you left the room, I didn't have any shoes on, right? I saw a pair leaning against the wall and I don't know, something just told me that they were mine. They didn't seem familiar until after I had put them on."

"Well, yours were the only pair in the room. That might have been just chance." Alby pointed out.

"It might be," I agreed uncertainly. Again, the voice in my head whispered for me not to say anything. I examined the two boys' faces. They didn't seem to be very convinced of… whatever it was, so I decided to hold my tongue further for the time being.

When they realized I wasn't going to say anything else, Alby cleared his throat, "Well, even though that wasn't much, I suppose it's better than nothing. For now, let's just keep this between us, and we'll hope that those shuck creators give us more clues." From his face, I could tell he didn't think whoever these creators were would do anything of the like, "I guess now for now we just treat you like any other Greenie. Newt, can you handle the tour?"

Newt nodded the affirmative and motioned for me to go with him. I didn't realize until now, but I made sure to take note of the slight limp he sported and filed it away as a question for the future. As I stood to follow him out the door, I paused and looked Alby directly in the eye, "Whoever Minho is, I really do hope you find him." I offered a tentative smile at his surprised look, before scampering after Newt, who had already left the room.

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><p>"Alright Greenie, no questions until the end, got it?" Newt waited until I had nodded before speaking, "Right, well welcome to the Glade. Here, we have a system where each person has their own job, and the head of each station is the Keeper. All those shanks you saw earlier? Those were the Keepers. The building you just left is the Homestead. It's where all of us Gladers usually sleep when it gets rough outside."<p>

"Over there, that's the Bloodhouse." Newt pointed towards a small building that had a couple herds of cattle around it. "We raise livestock and eventually kill them for meat. That'll be one of the places you'll go for keeper training, though I don't suppose you're really the type for that." He observed with slight amusement.

And so the tour continued. Newt did a pretty good job of explaining each part, so to my surprise, I didn't have very many questions. It wasn't until the end of the tour that my curiosity reasserted itself.

"Finally, there's out there." He didn't bother pointing. We both knew what he was referring to. "That's the Maze. Every day, we send our Runners out there and they go and map out the maze from memory." He stopped and looked me dead in the eye. "No one—and I mean _no one_—is allowed out there except for the runners." His tone was completely serious, and I nodded and mumbled a small 'okay'.

He looked away, and almost absentmindedly said, "Even though we can guess you have experience out there from your dream, it's better to play it safe than sorry."

"What if I wanted to be a Runner?" The question fell from my lips before I could stop them. Whoops.

A brief flash of sadness overtook Newt's face for a moment, but it had disappeared as fast as it had come. "Didn't I say no questions until the end, Greenie?" He chastised, and I ducked my head in embarrassment. I peeked through my bangs when I heard a small chuckle, and breathed a small sigh of relief when he responded, "Runners are usually only the strongest and fastest of the Gladers, and so most Greenies don't want to be out there in the danger."

"Well I'm not most 'Greenies'," I remarked, a small scowl on my face, "and my name is Emily. You know that already."

"One last thing you need to know, _Greenie_," Newt smirked at my growing annoyance and continued as if I hadn't spoken at all, "There are 3 rules here in the Glade. One, everyone does their part. That means no slackers. Two, never hurt another Glader. We only have each other, therefore we need to be able to trust each other."

"And the last rule?" I asked, a little waspishly, when he paused.

The amusement died from his face and a solemn look replaced it, "Never go outside the Glade."

"Unless you're a Runner." I corrected. He tilted his head, acknowledging my point.

"Unless you're a Runner." he agreed. "Don't get your hopes up though. It's a dangerous job and Alby isn't willing to risk any more people than necessary."

I let the matter drop (for now) but again that niggling voice in the back of my mind told me that being a Runner was normal, was _right_. But then I remembered the horror of the monster from my nightmare and I wasn't so certain whether I wanted it to be right anymore.

"Well, that's it for the tour. You should probably go and get something to eat. I'm sure Frypan can scrounge something up for you." With that, Newt turned to leave, probably to return to his own duties, but I made to stop him by reaching out. Before I could could grab his arm though, he shifted and moved his arm away from my grasp. He turned back around with a raised eyebrow and an amused quirk to his lips, "More questions, I'm guessing?"

I felt a giggle bubbling in my throat, and I cheekily retorted, "Just a few. I hope I'm not taking too much time, oh great Newt." I exaggerated a curtsy, pretending to fall over when he laughed. "Okay, so where are the rest of the girls? I haven't seen any while we were walking around."

At this, his amusement quickly faded. "You haven't figured it out yet?" At my blank stare, he sighed, "You're the only one. That's another one of the reasons why your arrival was so strange."

"R-really? I'm the only one?" I felt faint.

"Alby's already made it clear to the boys while we were on the tour that no one is to mess with you. If anyone harasses you, just let us know." Newt informed me before grinning, "Don't be afraid to shove them around a bit if they start bothering you. Give 'em a good beating and they'll leave you alone."

I bit my lip, unsure. Despite his effort at humor, it did nothing to sqash the feelings of apprehension swirling around in my stomach. However, I didn't want to take too much more of his time, so I asked, "One last thing. What's out there?" I floundered, trying to find a way to clearly express my thoughts, "In my dream, there was something chasing me. It's the thing that makes the Maze so dangerous, right? I _saw_ that look you gave Alby. There's something else, isn't there?"

Newt hesitated before he reluctantly answered, "We call them Grievers. Getting stung by one and not having the Serum administered… You're pretty much dead."

I froze. What a… horrifying description. Seeing my distress, Newt gave a wry smile and touched my shoulder an attempt at reassurance, "Hey, like I said. Don't worry about it. Regardless of whatever experience you may have had in the Maze, you're our only link to Minho. Alby and I won't let anything happen to you."

"I—I see." I murmured softly, "Thank you."

Newt gave me one last smile before jogging off, leaving me to my own thoughts. I ambled over to a nearby tree to sit down and process the information I had just been given. I plopped down on the soft grass, and I'm not quite certain how long I just sat there, sifting through my own (meager) memories and trying to connect them together. It must have been for a while because the sun was already beginning to set the next time I glanced up through the leaves. When my stomach had finally realized it was empty and growled obnoxiously loud, so I got up and began wandering in the direction of the kitchens.

On my way, I passed up several other boys, all of whom gave me curious stares as I walked by. My first instinct was to lower my gaze and stare awkwardly at my feet, but there was still that voice in the back of my mind urging me to raise my head. Deciding to follow the voice, I met the boys' gazes cautiously and offered a tentative smile. "Hi there…?"

"Hey now, Greenie." I felt the smile melt off my face at the nickname, and I turned to narrow my eyes at the speaker. "No need to be so shy." The guy was relatively tall and he stood with a rather arrogant stance.

"My name is Emily." I snarled, "Learn it. Remember it. Use it."

A couple of the boys watching snickered and the boy who spoke straightened, a smirk lighting his face. "Ooh we got a feisty one here. I'm Gally. Learn it, remember it, use it." His tone was mocking as he parroted my own words back at me.

Angrily, I opened my mouth to retort, but he laughed and cut me off before I could say anything, "Oh come on. Lighten up a bit. I know you're a girl, but there's no reason to be so stingy."

Realizing that he was only teasing—albeit in a very pompous manner—I forced my anger down and tried to refasten a smile to my face. I think it came out a little strained though. "It's nice to meet you, Gally."

"Such politeness! We shanks don't deserve that, do we now?" My face flushed in embarrassment as the gathered boys burst into laughter.

"What's going on here?"

Newt's arrival abruptly silenced the crowd. I spun around and saw him standing right behind me, arms crossed and face cold with disapproval. "Don't you slintheads have your jobs to tend to?" At that, most of the boys scattered, none of them daring to risk a night in that prison hole (the Slammer, my mind helpfully supplied).

Within a few moments, only Gally remained. He was frowning slightly at Newt, who in turn was staring back with an equally unrelenting posture. "Hey man, what's your problem?"

Newt cocked an eyebrow, "My problem? I'm pretty bloody certain Alby told you not to mess with Emily here."

"She's only another Greenie." Gally remarked dryly, "Well, I suppose she's a she-bean, but a still just a Greenie nonetheless. A weak one too, if she can't stand up for herself."

Newt's eyes flashed and he made to speak, most likely to dish out a punishment of some sort, but I quickly grabbed his arm to stop him, effectively drawing both males' attention. I looked past Newt's inquisitive look and coolly regarded Gally with a bland look, "I can stand up for myself perfectly fine, thank you." I released Newt's arm from my grasp and continued on my way to the kitchens like I had been before I was stopped in the first place. Pausing when I passed Gally, I murmured just loud enough for them both to hear, "You'll do well to remember that. Both of you."

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><p><strong>Thanks guys for the reviews! It means a lot. Sorry the updates are slow. I'll try and get in one or two a week, but with school it's gonna be hard.<strong>

**29.10.2014 S**orry guys this isn't a real update.** I went back and added a "real" prologue and made the old one Chapter I. Working on the next part though, so expect it within a week or so.**


	4. Chapter III

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Maze Runner or any of its characters._

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><p><strong>Lost and Found<strong>

**Arc I**

**Chapter III**

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><p><em>What were you thinking?<em>

That was the only thought that ran through my mind as I headed towards the kitchens, fighting down a burning blush on my face all the way there. I hadn't needed to look back at Newt and Gally's faces to know that they were staring at me in shock as I walked away. Heck, I would stare at myself in shock if I could. I wondered again where that confidence had come from. It felt… normal though. Somehow. Maybe?

I shook my head, the beginning of a headache forming. Arriving at the small gathering area where food was being served, I accepted the plate of food from a large boy (Frypan, I recalled, was his name) with a small nod of thanks and took it over to an empty picnic table, away from the rest of the boys. I stared at the sandwich unhappily, my appetite having disappeared during the confrontation with Gally. I picked at some lettuce, tearing a piece off and popped it into my mouth. It was better than I expected.

While I wasn't all that hungry, I forced myself to pick up the sandwich and take a bite. I may not have had an appetite, but my stomach was empty and I would regret it later if I didn't get something in it. While I morosely ate by myself, trying not to look too awkward and lonely, I felt the table tilt slightly. I glanced up to see a scrawny young boy, no older than 11 or 12 I would guess, take a seat across from me.

"H-hi. You looked a little lonely, so I thought I would join you." His voice was squeaky, I noted with slight amusement, and he blushed under my scrutiny, dropping his gaze to his fidgeting hands in his lap. I took a liking to him almost immediately. "I'm Nikola. Or Nick. Everyone just calls me Nick."

I smiled warmly at him, "It's nice to meet you Nick." He seemed like such an innocent boy. I wondered what he had done to be stuck in this hellhole of a place. "My name is Emily, but I suppose you already knew that."

He nodded quickly, "Yeah, all of the boys know you by now. You're the s-shebean." He stuttered over the slang word, and he peeped up at me. He quickly backtracked when he saw the flash of annoyance that must have crossed my face at the name and waved his hands in front of him frantically, "Wait no, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything! It's just what everyone's been calling you. And I was the Greenie before you arrived so it sorta just stuck."

My annoyance faded at his earnest apology and I found myself wanting to reassure him. "No, no it's okay. I guess I can't really stop people from calling me that. I don't think buddies should call each other names, though." I winked playfully at him.

His eyes widened in amazement and he bobbed his head up and down fervently, looking overjoyed at having a new friend. "O-okay!" His cherubic face beamed at me before dimming slightly. "I don't have very many friends," he admitted, "I'm not brave and strong like you or the others are. A lot of the boys think I'm w-wimpy or weak."

At this statement, I frowned. The hard and unforgiving image of Gally popped into my mind. I had no doubt that he would have given the poor boy a hard time and a fresh rush of anger surged through me, this time in defense for the boy. Heatedly, I told him, "Well,_ I_ don't think you're weak. It takes guts to approach someone and not just stare at them from a distance." I raised my voice slightly, turning to give nearby eavesdroppers a pointed glare. I watched in satisfaction as they quickly turned away and pretended they were talking among themselves, some of them shooting me nervous glances.

Facing Nick again, I confessed, "And I'm really not that brave or strong. When I first woke up, I couldn't talk at all and I almost started crying."

"You stood up to Gally and Newt," Nick countered, "and no one's _ever_ done that on their first day. Nor on the days afterward either."

I blinked in surprise. "How did you know about that? I thought all the boys had left when Newt came over."

The boy blushed, before dropping his gaze to his lap again. "I may have eavesdropped…" he mumbled. Despite the slight irritation I felt, I resisted the urge to squeal at the adorable image he made, face as red as tomato and hands fiddling with the edge of his shirt.

Laughing, I waved my hand and grinned at him, "You know, if you were anyone else, I'd probably be mad. But you're so cute it's hard to stay angry." My amusement only grew when he blushed even harder. I took another bite of my sandwich, my hunger returning with the light conversation. It was only then I realized that Nick didn't have anything in front of him. When I asked him about it, he sheepishly admitted he had snuck into the kitchen earlier and Frypan had caught him. I offered half of my sandwich, but he laughed and declined, joking that Frypan would be keeping an eye on him and would kill him if he accepted. _Besides_, he had added, _I'm so small I don't need much food anyway._

I wasn't convinced, but it was clear he wasn't budging so I let it drop. I did make a mental note to make sure he would eat in the future though. Polishing off the rest of my meal and feeling pleasantly full, I stood up. Nick followed suit and trotted after me as I made my way to the sleeping area near the Homestead. As the two of us left, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle, and I glanced behind me. I caught Gally's stare and I felt a shiver run down my spine at his glare. Hastily, I looked away, not wanting another confrontation. Nick watched me carefully, the exchange not lost on him. Perceptive little bugger.

"Come on." I muttered, grabbing his small wrist and dragging him with me as I practically fled the dining area. He obediently trailed after me, but I knew from the look on his face that questions would soon follow. Sure enough, as soon as we got to the Homestead he asked, "Why did you run away?" He was actually glaring at me slightly.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, pushing a couple locks of the black (and greasy. ew) hair from my face. "I didn't want to make a scene in front of the boys." I responded gloomily, "Even though you think I'm brave, I'm not quite daring enough to pick a fight with Gally in front of a crowd. Besides, that wouldn't be a very good first impression."

His glare didn't lessen, "So? You can't show weakness to him! Maybe you didn't have to confront him, but you can't just run with your tail tucked between your legs either!" I looked away, not wanting to argue this with my only friend so far, but he continued on, "You made a first impression anyway. No one other than me knew that you had stood up to him before. Just now, everyone saw that, so now they think you're scared of him as well."

For the second time that night, I stared at the young boy, his intuition surprising me. Belatedly, I realized he was right; I did make an impression. I still shook my head though, "I don't want any enemies. Especially not from anyone in the Glade."

Nick didn't look satisfied, but he couldn't argue my point. Deciding to change the subject, I asked, "So is there a shower or anything I can use? I'm honestly not sure when the last time I washed was and I feel disgusting."

His disgruntled expression melted into one of hesitance. "We only have one bathroom." My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to tell him to forget it, but he quickly cut me off, "It's okay though! I can just wait outside and make sure no one goes in while you're in there." I felt a surge of gratitude for the boy. His kindness was one of the few fortunate things that had happened to me this past day. He scampered away, grabbing a couple blankets along the way. I followed his figure to what I assumed was his sleeping corner, and he placed the blankets down. "I have a feeling you don't know where to sleep, so you can just sleep by me here, okay?"

I nodded gratefully, and Nick rummaged around his belongings and grabbed a towel, a bar of soap, and a comb. He handed them to me and sheepishly said, "It's not much, but it's better than nothing. I don't have a change of clothes for you, so you'll have to stick to those for now." While I wasn't too happy about putting back on my grimy clothes, I did agree that having a shower was better than nothing.

He led me to behind the Homestead where a small building stood. The was a small window, but it was dark so it was safe to assume it was empty at the moment. Nick pointed towards it and told me, "You can go shower here. I'll wait outside, so don't worry, okay?" I smiled and nodded my thanks, once again feeling a surge of gratitude for the boy. As he settled against a nearby tree, I slipped inside the shack and groped along the walls for the light switch. My fingers finally finding it, I flipped it on and examined the room.

It wasn't very big, but it had quite a few stalls for different shower heads and toilets. _It's like a locker room_, my mind whispered. Indeed like a locker room, and I wondered why I could clearly remember what a locker room was, yet no familiar images came to mind. It was as if my memory had been wiped clean of images from a life before the maze, yet all the definitions of everything was still there.

I quickly looked through all the stalls and selected the one I thought was the cleanest. Testing out the water with a hand, I was pleasantly surprised that relatively hot water spurted out. I stripped off the dirty clothes and carefully placed them so that they wouldn't get wet. Stepping into the steady stream of water, I sighed happily and proceeded to thoroughly wash my body and my hair.

After a good hour, I felt squeaky clean despite the dirty clothes I wore and I was drying off my hair as I exited the bathroom. To my surprise, quite a few boys had gathered outside, where Nick was vehemently telling them to back off and leave. Noticing my arrival, relief colored his expression and he darted to my side, still directing a scowl towards the other boys.

"Do all girls take so long to take a bloody shower?" I jumped slightly when Newt's voice carried over, amusement palpable. Picking him out from among the others, I noticed the towel slung over his shoulder and I realized exactly why there were so many guys outside.

"Were you guys waiting this entire time?" I asked, horrified. Guilt began eating at my insides. How could I have forgotten?

He smirked, "Yeah, gave your guard dog quite a job keeping us out." He chuckled at my guilty expression, and waved off my apologies. To my relief, most of the guys didn't look too mad and seemed to be just as amused as Newt was.

"I won't take as long next time," I promised.

Newt just shook his head, joking that I better not have used up all of the hot water. He paused, and informed me, "Oh, and I reminded Alby to send a note down with the Box to get you some fresh clothes. Those should be coming up with the next round of supplies."

Surprised, I echoed, "Send a note down? You can communicate with the Creators?"

Newt nodded, "Yeah, if we ever need anything, we send down a slip of paper letting them know. Sometimes they give us what we asked for, other times they just ignore it. But considering they put you with us in the first place, I'm sure they'll send stuff up."

I thought over this for a moment, "Have you ever tried sending—"

"—someone down the Box?" Newt finished, cutting me off. "Of course. But the bloody box wouldn't move until we got out." He laughed at my startled face, "Trust me Greenie, anything you can think of, we've already tried." With that, he slipped inside the bathroom, leaving me with just Nick, who looked like he was suppressing laughter himself.

"What's so funny?" I inquired, not getting whatever the joke was.

"Nothing. It's just really satisfying seeing someone else be the Greenie." Nick grinned up at me. "I'm pretty sure Newt's heard all of the 'brilliant' suggestions all new people have, so he knows what you're gonna say before you even say it."

The two of us headed back towards the Homestead and settled down in our own corner. I fashioned a small bedding with the blankets that Nick had grabbed for me earlier. It wasn't a luxury suite, but it provided some nice padding from the hard earth underneath. I laid on my back and stared at the stars, listening to the rustling of Nick arranging his own blankets beside me.

"Do you think we'll ever get out?" I asked.

The rustling paused before resuming, slower than before.

"I don't know," was the quiet response.

The two of us fell silent, Nick finally settling down. The only sounds were of the quiet conversations of the others, their voices drifting across the Glade from their own positions. Time passed by, and the conversations died off as people fell asleep. I soon heard Nick's breathing even out, but I found myself awake for several hours afterwards. Unable to stand just lying there any longer, I slipped out of my cocoon of blankets and carefully stepped past Nick, making sure to not wake the boy.

I'm not sure where my feet were taking me, but I eventually found myself staring at the spindly branches of the Deadheads. They cast shadows along the grassy earth, and I was inexplicably drawn towards that thicker growth farther in. Something about it seemed familiar. Absentmindedly, I wondered if I had ever gone hunting with a father or hiking with a family or camping with a group of friends and if these nameless faces I picture in my mind are forgotten memories or just some unattainable fantasies.

My feet tread over the twigs and leaves with a grace I didn't even know I possessed, barely making a sound as I wandered past unfamiliar trees and boulders. I could almost imagine holding a bow and arrow, stalking some unknown prey and hunting it down as a predator would. Lost in daydreams, I didn't even notice as the trees opened up to a small clearing until I was standing directly in the middle. _You can see the stars and moon clearly from here_, I mused. It was rather peaceful. I plopped down on the soft grass, leaning back on my arms to look up at the dark sky.

I wasn't sure how long I stayed there, just watching the stars, but eventually my eyes slid closed, and I finally allowed myself to succumb to the waiting arms of sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Pain.<em>

_Blinding, excruciating, white-hot _pain_._

_I heard high-pitched screaming, like a dying animal almost, and I realized belatedly that the sound was coming from me._

_'Hold her down!' I could hear someone yelling in the background, a female, and several arms grasped my thrashing limbs, but I could think of nothing else except for this blinding, excruciating, white-hot _pain_._

_Barely lucid, although very conscious of the searing agony, I heard a different voice, also a female but her voice had a ring of authority in it, shout above my screeching, 'We need to give her the serum!'_

_Serum? Yes, a serum sounded good. Please please please, just anything to stop this _blinding, excruciating, white-hot __pain__.__

__Except the tell-tale prick of a needle never came. No rush of fluid into my body to stop this torture. No relief to stop this torment. Only a voice that kept calling my name over and over and over and over again—__

* * *

><p>With a gasp, I woke. My eyes snapped open, but I squeezed them shut immediately, the bright light of the sun seared into my eyelids. Trembling, I rubbed my arms as I curled into a sitting position, the phantom of the agony still burned into my flesh. I could hear loud chatter around me, but it all faded into one, large hum that buzzed in the back of my mind.<p>

I felt pricking at the back of my eyes, and I squeezed my eyes shut tighter in an effort to prevent the tears. Reaching out blindly, I grabbed onto the nearest thing, and a warmth surrounded me and held me tightly against them. Clutching desperately at this small source of comfort, I felt tears slowly trail down my cheeks and I felt someone rubbing my back soothingly and whispering 'it's okay' over and over again in that calming, low tenor.

Still shaking, I pried open my eyes, my vision still blurred with tears, but I could make out the face of a concerned Newt holding me and a terrified Nick right in front of me. I raised a hand to wipe at my eyes and nose, and eventually my sight cleared enough so I could see a large crowd of people behind them. Gasping, I scrambled up out of my position in Newt's lap, but I was still disoriented from my nightmare and my legs nearly gave out from beneath me. Nick was beside me in a flash, supporting me as I regained my bearings.

Glaring at the other boys, who were all regarding me with open curiosity and sympathy, he angrily shouted in that young, treble voice that I had already grown to love so much, "Get lost! Can't you see that she needs some privacy?"

Unable to stand any longer, I collapsed back onto the ground, my entire body quivering with sobs from the combined stress of the nightmare and the weight of everyone's gaze. I heard Alby's commanding voice to tell everyone to leave, and to my complete surprise, I heard Gally's voice beside his, telling the others to clear off as well. Through the freely flowing tears, I offered a tremulous smile towards the gruff boy, and he nodded his acknowledgment before shooing the last stragglers away and leaving himself.

The only ones left in the clearing were Newt, Nick and myself. Newt continued to rub my back and Nick just sat beside me, his eyes wide with worry. Slowly, my sobs died down to occasional sniffles and erratic hiccups.

As I calmed down, Nick hesitantly asked, "Hey, are you okay now?"

"Y-yeah," I choked out before shaking my head vehemently, "I r-remember the pain so w-well," a fresh round of tears welled up in my eyes as I clutched at my head, wanting nothing more than to return to the ignorance and oblivion, wanting only to forget that awful, awful _pain_. "I don't remember why or how it happened, but that—that _agony_. There's n-no way it wasn't real."

"Do you recall anything else from the dream itself?" Newt asked.

"I'm not sure," I admitted quietly, "I think there were a lot of people holding me down, and one of them, a woman I think, told them to give me an antidote or cure or serum or something like that."

Newt looked startled at that, and then his expression turned solemn. He continued rubbing my back, and I was grateful for the comfort. It was a welcomed contrast to that awful, awful—

"Emily." I looked up at Newt, who had a pensive look on his face. "Do you still remember your first nightmare?" I shivered at the reminder and hesitantly nodded. "Do you remember if that monster—that Griever—ever actually caught you?"

Before I could respond, Nick cut in, a furious expression on his face, "Hey! She just woke up from one nightmare, did you seriously just bring up another?" Despite the turmoil I was feeling, I felt my heart warm at his defense and I thanked every God and Lord above that I had such a sweet kid at my side.

Even Newt looked pleasantly surprised, and he reached out to ruffle Nick's hair. "Sorry, kiddo, but this is really important."

Nick looked ready to argue, but I stopped him with a small brush of a hand on his arm. He backed down, albeit a disgruntled expression settling on his face. Turning back to Newt, I confessed, "I don't know. I woke up right when it attacked. You think it has something to do with the p-pain?"

Newt had a slight frown on his face and he slowly responded, "I'm not quite sure. I need to talk to Alby about it before anything else." He shifted me carefully off of his lap and brushed dirt off the back of his pants as he stood. Pausing, he wryly added, "By the way, you have a hell of a lot to explain later as to why we found you this morning screaming at the top of your lungs in the middle of the bloody Deadheads."

"W-wait!" I called out as he turned to leave. "If it has something to do with my dreams, I have a right to know," I stated firmly, confidence returning for the first time that day.

Newt hesitated, casting me a sidelong glance. "It's only a theory."

"A theory that concerns me." I countered.

Sighing, he unhappily pinned me with an exasperated look, "You're very stubborn," he remarked.

"And you're stalling," I snapped, an eyebrow ticking in annoyance. I saw Nick smirk from the corner of my eye, but he quickly dropped it when I gave him a warning look. The entertained glint didn't disappear from his eye though.

Newt sighed again, before reluctantly saying, "If I'm right, you've had experience in the maze before—enough experience to the point where you most likely got stung by a Greiver. Only runners ever have that much experience, but we've never had a girl here before."

I gasped, seeing where his logic was leading him. Nick, on the other hand, frowned, not yet making the connection.

Newt continued, the pensive look deepening as he spoke, "If you're a runner, yet we've never seen you before, then you must have been a runner _elsewhere_."

I heard a sharp intake of air, and I knew Nick must have made the same connection I did. "A second group?"

Newt nodded, "Yeah, and if Emily's here with us, then the other group has to have Minho."

* * *

><p><strong>Aight, I was gonna type some character analysis here, but it's really late and I'm sleepy. Because of that, there's also probably a lot of spellinggrammar errors at the moment. I'll fix it tomorrow in addition to adding the analysis. It won't be a formal update, so just check back anytime in the next 24 hours manually if you're interested in my reasoning behind the characters' personalities and actions. (Also, shout out to ptl4ever419 for guessing the plot. Smartypants ^_^)  
><strong>

**2.11.2014 So I went back and I fixed most of the errors, so this thing should be relatively typo-free now. If you find any that I missed, let me know either through review or PM and I'll fix it ASAP. As for the character analysis stuff, I had a friend (she wishes to remain anonymous) read through my story and she's very nit-picky so she brought up a lot of good points. I probably should just go back through and manually add more character development, and I most likely will if I ever stop feeling lazy, but for now I'll just tell you guys what's going on in my head as I'm writing. This next section is pretty long, so you can just skip over it if you don't want to read it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Emily<strong>-As with all Gladers, she is indeed named after a famous person, and I'll let you guys guess as to who. She seems a bit "all over the place" (quoted from my friend) but that's intentional as I'm trying to make this as realistic as I can. Emily's a girl who's thrown into a den of all males and with horrifying nightmares, so her breaking down and crying shouldn't be too surprising. Despite that, I tried to give her that sort of "quiet strength" that shows itself around people she's comfortable with (e.g. Newt or Nick) while still keeping her from becoming a Mary Sue. She has her flaws, and that's what's supposed to make her approachable to both the story characters and the readers.

**Newt**-Both in the movie and the book, he's the friendly and sympathetic type of person, therefore I think it's pretty natural for Emily to go to him as a source of comfort. While Alby's the leader, he's always been very gruff in my opinion, so despite him being the "leader," I can't really see Emily taking too much of an attachment to him. Newt on the other hand demonstrated his kindness to Thomas and his overarching concern for his fellow Gladers numerous times, but he's still commanding enough (such as when he appointed Thomas a runner in the movie) to have a huge impact over his subordinates.

**Nick**-I got his name off of the wall in the movie, and I think it fits pretty well. My friend mentioned that it was a little strange that he took such an attachment to Emily, but you have to keep in mind that this guy is a good 5-6 years younger than most other Gladers and was probably bullied a little by the others because of his naivety. Even if the Gladers themselves don't remember it, that had five extra years of mothering whereas Nick was deprived of that. Because Emily is one of the first people to treat him so kindly at first sight, it's natural that he as a child will look up to her almost as a mother/older sister and feel territorial. However, because he holds her on a pedestal, when she acts cowardly (such as the dining scene) he'll be somewhat disappointed that she doesn't live up to the picture in his mind.

**Gally**-Even though he was portrayed as a jerk in the book and a scumbag towards Thomas, it's because he has the Gladers' best interests at heart. I think the film writers did a great job in writing him in the movie, as he did make some really strong and valid arguments against Thomas and Newt. I don't want to write him here as a douche, but more of that person who's just misled. As a result, he'll understand what Emily's going through, but he's not going to be suddenly chummy-chummy with her because she brings out the waterworks.

**Alby**-He's got a lot on his plate at the moment, which is why I'm not going to give him quite as much of a spotlight until the plot actually begins moving forward. (As of right now, you can tell the plot is moving very slowly. I want to develop the characters as much as possible before moving onwards). He has to deal with a missing Keeper and a new Greenie, all the while keeping the Glade running smoothly. I can see him holing up by himself, just planning out what he needs to do.

**Other Gladers**-I know a lot of you are wondering why I used another OC (Nick) instead of Chuck, and this is because Emily arrived before Thomas, and (if I remember correctly) Chuck was the Greenie before him. Chuck will be making his appearance once I begin accelerating the plot (which does indeed involve Thomas, who as I'm sure you've noticed, is MIA at the moment, lol), but that won't be for another couple chapters. Minho is gone, but the other runners are continuing as normal because I assume they know what to do even without their Keeper.

**If I've forgotten anyone, let me know and I'll add them.**


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